Standing Boy

Paul Resika (08/15/1928- ) was born in New York City. He studied privately with Sol Wilson from 1940 to 1944, and with Hans Hofmann from 1945 to 1947. He has taught at the University of Oregon, the Art Students League, Cooper Union, Dartmouth College, Skowhegan School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the State University of New York at Potham. A painter, his works are simplistic in terms of composition and complex in terms of coloring; simultaneously abstract and realistic. In many of them there is no clear line of horizen coupled with a rather illusive use of light. His preferred subjects are those that are imbued with historical significance; currently this is interpreted as French farm houses with red roofs. Although he likes to paint outdoors, he does not think of himself as a painter of landscapes, nor does he attribute any particular virtue to this practice. Resika says “What we want as painters is to be free, happy and certain about what we’re doing.” Resika has been the recipient of several awards including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant, a Childe Hassam award, and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (in 1984). Also, he has participated in a great number of solo and group exhibtions throughout the United States and abroad. A retrospective of his work was held at the Artists' Choice Museum in New York City in 1985. His works are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE, and the National Museum of American Art, Washington, DCHis works are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE, and the National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC.